RT Journal Article
T1 Active faulting offshore SE Spain (Alboran Sea): Implications for earthquake hazard assessment in the Southern Iberian Margin
A1 Gràcia Mont, Eulalia
A1 Pallàs, Raimon
A1 Soto, Juan I.
A1 Comas, M. C.
A1 Moreno, X.
A1 Masana, Eulàlia
A1 Santanach, Pere
A1 Díez Tagarro, Susana
A1 García, Margarita
A1 Dañobeitia, J.J.
A1 Perea Manera, Héctor
A1 Roque, C.
AB The southern margin of the Iberian Peninsula hosts the convergent boundary between the European and African Plates. The area is characterised by low to moderate magnitude shallow earthquakes, although large historical events have also occurred. In order to determine the possible sources of these events, we recently acquired swath-bathymetry, TOBI sidescan sonar and high-resolution seismic data on the Almería Margin (Eastern Alboran Sea). The new dataset reveals the offshore continuation of the NE–SW trending Carboneras Fault, a master fault in the Eastern Betic Shear Zone, and its associated structures (N150 and NS faults). These structures are active since they cut the Late Quaternary sedimentary units. The submarine Carboneras Fault zone is 100 km long, 5–10 km wide, and is divided into two N045 and N060 segments separated by an underlapping restraining stepover. Geomorphic features typically found in subaerial strike-slip faults, such as deflected drainage, water gaps, shutter ridges, pressure ridges and “en echelon” folds suggest a strike-slip motion combined with a vertical component along the submarine Carboneras Fault. Considering the NNW–SSE regional shortening axis, a left-lateral movement is deduced for the Carboneras Fault, whereas right-lateral and normal components are suggested for the associated N150 and NS faults, respectively. The offshore portion of this fault is at least twice as long as its onshore portion and together they constitute one of the longest structures in the southeastern Iberian Margin. Despite the fact that present day seismicity in the Almería margin seems to be associated with the N150 to NS faults, the Carboneras Fault is a potential source of large magnitude (Mw ∼7.2) events. Hence, the Carboneras Fault zone could pose a significant earthquake and tsunami hazard to the coasts of Spain and North Africa, and should therefore be considered in any hazard re-evaluation.
PB Elsevier
SN 0012-821X
YR 2006
FD 2006
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/105244
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/105244
LA eng
NO Gràcia, Eulàlia, et al. «Active Faulting Offshore SE Spain (Alboran Sea): Implications for Earthquake Hazard Assessment in the Southern Iberian Margin». Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 241, n.o 3-4, enero de 2006, pp. 734-49. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.009.
NO Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología
NO European Commission
NO European Science Foundation
NO Generalitat de Catalunya
DS Docta Complutense
RD 9 abr 2025